Men's Track & Field

Retrievers Conclude Invitational Season at Two-Day New Balance Collegiate Invitational Beginning on Friday

Jan 31, 2013

BALTIMORE – The UMBC track and field
team finishes the invitational portion of its indoor season with
the two-day New Balance Collegiate Invitational, beginning on
Friday in New York, N.Y.

The Retrievers travel to New York for the second time this
season to compete against athletes from over 100 collegiate
institutions. Team entering athletes include men's
reigning national champion Florida and women's current number one
team, Clemson. This meet gains even more importance this
season as it is the last chance to improve times and distances
before the America East Championships, which were moved up a week
due to facility changes.

Already the school record holder in both the 60m dash and 200m
dash, sophomore Mercedes Jackson (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown)
broke both of her marks last week against a national field at the
Penn State National Invitational. After lowering her
personal-best time in the 60m event to 7.39 in the semifinal round,
Jackson inched it even lower in the finals, crossing the line in a
time of 7.34. This time is the top in the America East
this season and ranks tied for seventh in the NCAA. She
needs to be ranked in the top-16 at the end of the season to make
the NCAA Championships. Meanwhile, her winning time of
23.98 in the 200m competition is also the best in the conference
while sitting in 33rd nationally.

The men also have a pair of impressive sprinters as
seniors Dennison
Long (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt, FIU) and Trae
Proctor (Brandywine, Md./Thomas Stone) lead the conference
in the 60m dash and 60m hurdles, respectively. Long's
top time of 6.88 came in early January at the Penn State Relays,
but he nearly equaled it while finishing in tenth with a time of
6.90 on the same track last weekend. Proctor, meanwhile,
became the first Retriever to ever go under eight seconds in the
sprint hurdle event when he finished tied for third at the Gotham
Cup in a time of 7.89. In addition to leading the
conference, Proctor is tied for 23rd in the nation.

In the mid-distance, the Retrievers have two women currently
placing in the top-five in both the 400m and 500m runs in the
America East. Sophomore Paulette Fogle (Washington, D.C./Bishop McNamara)
ranks third in both events with a 400m time of 57.24 and 500m time
of 1:14.96, which she has recorded twice this
season. Junior Kirsten
Jones (Brentwood, Tenn./M.L.K. Magnet) sits just behind
her teammate in fourth in the 400m (57.32) and fifth in the 500m
(1:15.50).

UMBC will also send a strong distance contingent to New York,
led by junior Andrew
Smith (Chadds Ford, Pa./Garnet Valley) and
sophomore Sarah Daly (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion),
both of whom have qualified for postseason meets in the
800m. Smith leads the America East with his
IC4A-qualifying quarter-mile time of 1:54.66 at the Terrapin
Invitation while Daly is fourth in the conference after her
season-best time of 2:14.32 last week at Penn State to meet the
ECAC standard.

The Retrievers have put together a strong throwing team this
season with senior Amanda
Deller (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen) pacing the women and the trio
of senior Cameron McDearmon (Owings Mills, Md./Franklin),
junior Yao
Adantor (Laurel, Md./Reservoir/Morgan St./Maryland) and
sophomore Thor
Serafenas (Olney, Md./Good Counsel/Clemson) leading the
men.

Deller, a three-time America East indoor shot put champion,
leads the conference in the event after posting a personal-best
toss of 15.00m (49'2.50") at the Penn State
Nationals. She is also currently third in the weight
throw with a season-best heave of 15.76m (51'10.00") at the
Terrapin Invitational. Freshman Nneoma
Edokobi (Rockville, Md./Richard Montgomery) and junior Emma
Mayne (Mt. Airy, Md./Linganore) also rank in the top-ten
in the shot put while freshman Jennifer Nelson (Plainfield, Conn./Plainfield)
occupies seventh in the America East weight throw standings.

For the men, McDearmon, Adantor, and Serafenas all rank in the
top-ten in the conference in both throwing events this
season. McDearmon's weight throw of 18.38m (60'3.75")
leads the team and ranks second in the America East while Serafenas
and Adantor hold fifth and seventh place,
respectively. In the shot put, Adantor's toss of 15.74m
(51'7.75) at the Bison Opener leads the Retrievers and is
third-best in the conference.

In the jumps, senior Shioma
Obemeata (New Rochelle, N.Y./Iona Prep/St. Francis) leads
the America East and has qualified for the IC4A meet with a triple
jump distance of 14.71m (48'3.25"). Junior Mo
Drammeh (Frederick, Md./Thomas Johnson) continues to look
to break the seven-foot barrier this season while sitting tied for
third in the conference with a season-best height of 6'6.75"
(2.00m).